Category Archives: Sydney – South

Eating adventures in the Southern Suburbs of Sydney

Dumpling Dash: The Quest to Find the Best Shanghai Dumplings in Sydney!

best-dumplings-in-sydney

“There are eight of us, that’s definitely a good sign!”

Now ordinarily I’m not a particularly superstitious person. It mainly extends to jinxes more than anything else. And whilst Chinese people are renowned for being superstitious, I’d say that my parents were mildly superstitious but not overtly so. The number 8 is said to be extremely lucky (and I was born on the eighth of the month so I figure that has given me plenty of luck) and conversely the number 4 is said to be bad luck. But growing up, practically overrode superstition and when they bought their first house we ended up growing up in a house numbered 44. If you know Chinese people you would know that many would either ask to change the number or they would quite likely not live at a house who has an extremely unlucky number (with 44 being double bad luck!).

best-dumplings-in-sydney

So when we had our crowd of eight dumpling eaters I couldn’t help but remark about the superstitious number. Allow me to explain our exploits for the day. Our aim was simple, to find the best Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings in Sydney. You know those deliciously warming dumplings that seem to have taken over the hearts and tummies of food lovers? At best they have a delicate, silky skin encasing a pork filling with a hot, fragrant soup inside which burst open to warm the tummies (and possibly scald the tongue!). We’d see if dumpling fatigue was indeed a real phenomenon and we would test our stomach’s fortitude in the most delicious way.

Starting at 1:30pm in the afternoon (later than we’d like but David had a swim that morning) our group was made up of intrepid dumpling lovers Queen Viv, Miss America, David the chef from Perama and his wife Belinda, Jen from Truffled Pink and her boyfriend Nick came along with Mr NQN and I. Only hardened dumpling lovers needed apply. Our list encompassed nine dumpling restaurants in total spread across Sydney. Everyone perused the list of dumpling houses that we were eating at and nodded. “Also there are a lot of eights in the phone numbers!” someone exclaimed.

best-dumplings-in-sydney

The dumpling-mobile aka Black Cherry

This was a mission that was planned far ahead of time. In fact it was planned almost three months in advance and in that space of time our naughty car Elphaba had decided to protest and die and we found ourselves carless. Thankfully the kind people at Toyota loaned me their new Rukus car (in a colour we christened “Black Cherry”) to help us in our mission. Thank god for friends with cars!

The brief:

  • Try steamed xiao long bao and the pan fried pork buns if they had them on the menu
  • We could order any drinks that we needed (dumpling chasing is thirsty work!)
  • Try not to loiter if the place is busy
  • We would score the dumplings on four criteria: the pastry, appearance, filling/flavour and soup. They would be scored out of 10 with adjustments allowed

Din Tai Fung, World Square, Sydney CBD

best-dumplings-in-sydney

Our first stop was aiming high. We had all at other times visited Din Tai Fung and knew that their Xiao Long Baos were fantastic and whilst there was some debate about the flavour of the dumplings with Mr NQN insisting that Shanghai Night‘s were better for flavour, there was no mistaking how pretty these specimens were. Said to have at least 18 pleats in each individual dumpling these were mini works of art. As we walk towards Din Tai Fung we see a huge sign saying that they are not affiliated with any other dumpling restaurant which is oddly large for such an announcement.

Mr NQN, Queen Viv, Miss America and I meet the rest of our dining pals in front of this sign. “We’ve been kicked out!” Belinda tells us as they had been sitting there waiting for us but when they asked for a table for eight, they were asked to wait outside for a table. Yes it’s that sort of place. There is always a queue outside Din Tai Fung, pretty much at any time of the day.

best-dumplings-in-sydney

“We’ve got to take turns explaining to them why we only want Xiao Long Bao” we agree and I go first. I fill in the form on the table ticking the boxes for two lots of Xiao Long Bao (we’re hungry as it is past our lunch hour) including several orders for the terribly refreshing lychee and mint drink and beers and two lots of xiao long bao.

best-dumplings-in-sydney

The waiter hesitates “Just two?” “Yes just two, we’re on a diet” I offer. To their credit there’s no gnashing of the teeth (the large drinks order probably bought us an extra 30 minutes at the table) and they bring us a little stand for our handbags which comes with a cover cloth.

best-dumplings-in-sydney

Xiao Long Bao

Our dumplings arrive quickly as they tend to here and they are very pretty specimens indeed. On the table are small bowls with threads of ginger on them and you add the vinegar and soy to these strands of ginger and dip the dumpling into this. There is even a guide telling people how to eat a Xiao Long Bao so we carefully followed the instructions and deliver a soup, gingery specimen to our lips. The dumpling skin is wonderfully silky and smooth and thin and the filling is less dense and less tightly packed than other dumpling restaurants. The soup with its helpful injection of ginger in the sauce is also just the right amount. Popular with the group, we pass around the scorecard and mark them.

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High Tea At The Camellia Gardens Tea House, Caringbah

camellia gardens, caringbah

camellia gardens, caringbah

Happy Spring Dear Readers! I feel like I can truly say it now, even though we’ve had almost a month of September as the air is now filled with the heady perfume of jasmine and other Spring flowers. Queen Viv is my purveyor of great and fantastical adventures and this sunny Spring weekend just past, we decided to go on a short little road trip down to Caringbah where we would farewell the last of the season’s Winter camellias and indulge in an afternoon tea. And long time NQN readers will know that when Queen Viv and I go anywhere, we always get lost and this was no exception…

camellia gardens, caringbah

We park outside and enter the gates and are instantly enveloped in a sweet mix of perfume from all of the flowers. To the right is the Tea House and we are shown to a table. Booking is highly recommended – Queen Viv recalls it being busy even on weekdays. There is a regular menu and then there is a high tea menu. High Tea needs to be ordered 24 hours in advance and a seating lasts for two hours. It is also very kid friendly with a “Littlies High Tea” for $15 per child and there is also a separate kid’s menu which they can colour in. On the regular adult’s menu there is a choice of breakfast, morning tea including a Yummy Mummy special with two of their flower cookies, a kid’s milkshake and a coffee or tea for $10 or a Devonshire tea for $9.50. A blackboard specials board shows the more substantial meals. Once a week on Thursdays there is poet in residence who writes and discusses poetry.

camellia gardens, caringbah

Afternoon Tea stand for two people $60 ($30 per person) plus two teas and scones

camellia gardens, caringbah

Back view of stand

But today we are here for afternoon tea! They set the tables with white tablecloth and we choose a couple of teas from the selection. We go with the T2 Girlie Grey and the T2 Lemongrass & Ginger infusion. Our three tier stand of goodies arrives and our eyes widen in excitement. “There’s also scones to come!” they tell us placing it down on the table and explaining each tier to us.

camellia gardens, caringbah

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Meet My Suburb: A Marrickville, St Peters and Dulwich Hill Food Shopping Tour

marrickville food shopping tour

Paesanella Cheese products

Let me show you some of my secrets” Queen Viv said to me one day. I’m sure my Dearest Readers have heard all about my friend Queen Viv. She’s my fairy godmother and very good friend and as fairy godmothers are wont to do, they love to spread a little fairy dust by sharing their secrets. In Queen Viv’s case it’s unlocking the secrets of where she lives. One afternoon she showed me around the light industrial areas of Marrickville, St Peters and Dulwich Hill.

marrickville food shopping tour

Eumundi Smokehouse goodies

It seems that the Inner West is home to some fantastic hidden gems in the form of food factory shops that are also open to the public. Smart residents know all about these places and over the course of a couple of days Queen Viv helps me stock my fridge and pantry with all sorts of fantastic goodies. These places are best approached by bike or car but not impossible to walk between. However bring a chill bag (or several) and some ice packs because you are likely to want to buy!

Paesanella Cheese

marrickville food shopping tour

I don’t need to let Italian cheese lovers know about paesanella cheese. Their cheeses, especially the bocconcini and ricotta are legendary and I’d venture to say that their ricotta is the best commercially made ricotta here. This ricotta is so popular that come any Sunday morning, the lines snake out the door with Italian nonnas bringing their own pots and buckets to nab their stash of still warm freshly made ricottta for Sunday lunch.

marrickville food shopping tour

Fresh ricotta

Their fresh ricotta is the only pure milk  ricotta produced commercially. Other ricottas are made using whey and the by product of other cheese making but what makes this ricotta so good is the fact that it is made from pure milk. The General Manager Tony shows us around. Apparently 10 litres of milk are needed to produce 1 kg of cheese and even at $6.90 a kilo it’s a steal. He gives us a taste from the basket and it’s just as I remembered it – incredibly light, creamy and soft and utterly full of milk flavour. He tells us the way to find out if your ricotta is made from milk or from by products is to check the label. If it features ingredients like Xantham gum, starches, gluten or a chemical cocktail, you are actually paying for less milk in your ricotta and more filling.

marrickville food shopping tour

Paesanella Cheese was started in 1962 by Umberto Somma who came from a 300 year old cheese making family in Naples, Italy (in the buffalo mozzarella region). Since then they have been supplying Neopolitan style fresh cheeses to lucky Sydney siders. During his time making cheese, Umberto’s family asked him to stop making it because his health was deteriorating with emphysema and years later he died while making cheese.

marrickville food shopping tour

Umberto Somma

Speaking to Tony, their philosophy is against that of the the supermarket chains. It’s about making these cheese fresh daily without any additives which means that they are all short shelf life products. This presents issues for supermarkets that want a long shelf life and as a result it is only found at good delis. They’re not willing to change the product in order to supply to supermarkets so manufacture remains at manageable levels.

marrickville food shopping tour

Smoked mozzarella $7.40

Grace, who is behind the counter singing, comes out and shows us the smoked mozzarella which she says is good for stuffing zucchini, in lasagne and pretty much anywhere where regular mozzarella can be used. Looking around the room there are walls of awards and a deli cabinet full of smallgoods, enormous olives and cheeses. Then there’s two fridges with a mixture of imported cheeses and their own cheeses that are made on the premises plus the red white and green Paesanella sticker. They come in 250g, 500gram and 1 kg buckets.

marrickville food shopping tour

Tony shows us the Burrata cheese which is one of their new best sellers. It’s a bocconcini and mozzarella shell filled with cream and mozzarella curd and sounds absolutely divine. It’s ideal for an antipasto dish and can be eaten simply. Just remove it from the pack, drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil, oregano or basil and then serve it with some crusty pane di casa bread. Their mascarpone is a rested mascarpone so that all of the acids seep out making it smoother and creamier. They supply their cheese through Simon Johnson to restaurants such as Pilu and Buon Ricordo. And I can’t wait to dig into my 1kg bucket of ricotta when I get home and have it on toast for dinner. Tony gives me some samples of cherry bocconcini, smoked mozzarella, mascarpone, buffalo mozzarella, mozzarella and the delicious sounding Burrata which I plan on using on some special dishes – if I don’t eat it all first!

Eumundi Smokehouse

marrickville food shopping tour

They thought I was a drug dealer or something” Dave Kasmaroski (or Kaz as he’s known) says to Queen Viv and I laughing. The blacked out windows, the 3am sausage making and smoke rooms and the fact that they’re only open on Saturdays from 8am-2pm may have given locals that impression. Until of course they try one of his sausages or smoked meats and they’re transported into a place where sausages are organic and made without any fillers at all (yes they’re all gluten free) and without adding any water. Just pure meat and spices. This morning I’m standing outside the closed up shop and I’ve just called him on his mobile. Moments later a smiling face greets me and I’m let in by a member of his staff. They’re mostly female and very friendly and sweet. We smell that smoke aroma immediately and I recall my last visit here a few moons ago when I bought some of their smoked sausages for a European relative in law who swooned over them. Since then I’ve picked them up at markets all over Sydney as their shop is only open on Saturday from 8am-2pm.

marrickville food shopping tour

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Agapé Organic Restaurant & Bar, Botany

agape organic restaurant, botany, review

It’s all a bit Phantom of the Opera in here isn’t it” we say to each other clocking the dramatic curtains, candles, gilt chairs, and chandeliers. Con te Partiro is reaching a crescendo when we walk in and it feels a bit like we’re visiting a movie set (or a Paddington boutique). It’s been a dramatic night already for Miss America who, unable to find our house, has walked from his house in Potts Point to Kingsford only to call us admitting he was lost. Queen Viv, notorious for losing her way, is running half an hour late and Mr NQN and I are just happy to be out of the rain. Queen Viv and I are having a combined birthday and all signs point to drama which is par for the course when we dine out together (and admittedly why dining out together is so much fun).

agape organic restaurant, botany, review

agape organic restaurant, botany, review

Agapé is said to be the Ancient Greek word for a) god’s unconditional love for us or b) a pure selfless love of one person for another or c) a love feast shared as a sign of love friendship. Menu items are organic, sustainable, biodynamic and natural but at reasonable prices. They also make use of ancient grains such as spelt, amaranth as well as quinoa. Having a look at the menu, no dish reaches over $30 for a main and we suppose that the location, somewhat far flung in Botany and not in amongst any other eateries of note helps to contribute towards the reasonable price. The wine list is made up of organic and biodynamic wines.

agape organic restaurant, botany, review

Marinated olives with fennel, garlic and rosemary $5.50

As we’re waiting for Queen Viv to materialise, we nibble on some lovely warm olives which are richly infused with garlic, rosemary and fennel. Minutes later Queen Viv strides in “I blame Whereis!” she says. “I’ve been around this block three times already!”

agape organic restaurant, botany, review

Croquettes $15

We order quickly and mercifully we don’t have to wait very long before our entrees arrive. We take a bite into the croquettes which are fabulous crunchy on the outside with panko like breadcrumbs and soft on the inside with coarsely minced ocean trout and herbs. There’s a squiggle of aioli and pieces of tomato on top.

agape organic restaurant, botany, review

Meatballs $14

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Paul’s Famous Hamburgers, Sylvania

I recently asked a question of my readers that read “have you ever toyed with or have become a vegetarian or vegan?” and I was amused to read that a couple of readers had but that a cheeseburger was the item that they clearly remembered had broken their resolve. It’s understandable really – a good burger is hard to resist and I rarely do. This afternoon we were in need of a burger and I had heard that there was a Hamburger place that had been churning out delicious old skool burgers since 1957.

I admit I don’t visit the Shire very often. So much so that I tweeted “Going to the shire…I don’t venture there often!” and people tweeted back things such as “Good luck with that!” ( @fionalaughton) and “Make sure you get your vaccinations first!”(@TudorGrrrl) and “got your passport?” (@vitav). Then there were people that grew up there like @OohLookBel and @pathologic_kt.

Paul’s Famous Hamburgers is located on the Princes Highway in Sylvania and if you’re coming by car, it’s slightly tricky to get to in that there’s only a short merging space so if you miss the merge, you can turn left at a later stage and loop back around. Inside, it’s pure retro with the painted text menu with a list of variations but essentially it’s what you add what you want to the beef burger i.e. egg, bacon, cheese and pineapple. All burgers comes with tomato, lettuce, sauce and onion. As for the thoroughly Australian addition of sliced beetroot? You have to specifically ask for that.

They’re all made and assembled fresh to order and there’s also traditional milk bar milkshakes as well as their equally as famous Pineapple Crush drink. On a wall and outside there are plenty of framed newspaper clippings acclaiming these as the best burgers in Sydney. We decide to split some burgers and grab a 2 litre bottle of the Pineapple Crush ($6.50) from the small fridge on the counter. They give us 4 cups for the drinks even though we’ve only ordered 2 burgers to split among us which is nice and the servings are enormous. If you put the burger next to those incredible shrinking burgers of the well known burger chains, it would dwarf them.

Hamburger with The Works $7.20

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